What It Was Like Driving The Hyper-Rare Lee Iacocca Edition Ford Mustang

Lee Iacocca is a legend among legends, having been at the helm of both Ford Motor Company and Chrysler when both were cranking out truly groundbreaking products. The K-car that saved Chrysler? That launched under Iacocca. The minivan based on that K-Car platform? Iacocca. The most legendary sports car ever, the Ford Mustang? Yep, Lido. It’s for this reason that I was blown away to hear that no automaker ever offered an Iacocca Edition car; in fact, it took a special coachbuilder and an even more special dealership to make this a reality: the 45th Silver Anniversary Ford Mustang Iacocca Edition.

That special dealership is, of course, Galpin, The Autopian’s sister company, who has been putting out YouTube videos as part of its “Should I Sell It?” series. Autopian cofounder Beau is culling some of his herd of…we’ll just say hundreds of cars … and he’s trying to decide which to let go and which to keep.

Today on the chopping block is the most obscure Ford Mustang I’ve ever heard of. It’s called the “Iacocca Silver 45th Anniversary Edition” Ford Mustang, and there were only 45 ever built. Beau has three.

Even though these Iacocca Mustangs weren’t built by Ford itself, what makes them special is that Iacocca was actually involved in the development process.

Iacocca was a family friend of Beau’s. Beau’s dad Bert had built Galpin up to the largest Ford dealership on earth, and as you might imagine, quite a few Ford suits stopped by over the years. Here’s Iacocca (then President of Ford) and VP William Benton visiting with Bert back in 1974:

Here are the two friends many years later, along with Jane Boeckmann:

And here’s Beau with Iacocca:

This relationship made the 45th Silver Anniversary Ford Mustang Iacocca Edition a no-brainer for Galpin.

Based on a 2009 Ford Mustang GT coupe, the body was designed by Michael Leone, who worked with Denice Halicki of Gone in 60 Seconds fame. The build was carried out by Southern California-based Gaffoglia Family Metalcrafters, who is known for designing, engineering and building custom vehicles and prototypes, oftentimes for OEMs. As for mechanical upgrades, those were handled at Galpin, who was the 45th Silver Anniversary Ford Mustang Iacocca Edition’s exclusive retailer.

Speaking of mechanicals, this was a 2009 GT, so under the hood was a 4.6-liter modular V8 making 320 horsepower (with an 85mm cold air intake instead of the factory intake) or 400 horsepower (in supercharged form); both variants were hooked up to a five-speed manual transmission. Galpin installed the superchargers, as well as the Ford Racing Handling Package (which consisted of firmer springs and re-valved shocks) and optional larger 14-inch brakes.

The Iacocca Mustang May Have The Bones Of A GT, But It Feels Special

The way a car makes you feel when you’re behind the wheel is a complex thing. The sound of the engine, the acceleration, the clutch stiffness, the shifter throws, the snicking feeling of going into gear, the steering weight and directness, the suspension compliance, the body roll, the interior materials, the tech, the audio system — they all factor into the overall experience.

But there’s also pedigree. No, that’s not something you can actually feel, physically, but it’s something you can feel emotionally. Whenever I step into a special car with a unique history, that history paints how I perceive that vehicle. That Vector I drove was a wacky American’s dream car that he somehow managed to get into production; I love that story, even if the car is poorly built. My BMW i3 doesn’t drive that differently than another electric car, but the story of its over-engineered chassis makes the geek in me swoon. The WWII Jeep that I drive these days behaves the same as any other WWII Jeep, except this one I built with my own bare hands, so it “feels” different.

I say all this because these 45th Silver Anniversary Ford Mustang Iacocca Edition are “Mod Motor” Mustangs underneath, with relatively minor suspension updates. So technically, the driving experience should be the same as an aughts-era ‘stang. And yet, to me, it didn’t feel the same; what I think I’m describing here is what Californians refer to as “vibes.”

Sure, the black, silver, and red cars Beau, Jason, and I drove were all powered by the same naturally aspirated V8 you’d see in a Crown Vic or any old V8 Mustang (we drove the 320 horsepower variants, since Galpin could only supercharge the cars after a sale), so each vehicle drove very much like a 2009 Mustang GT.

But that’s not a bad thing at all! That mod motor makes a nice growl and plenty of torque, and the power is enough to get you to 60 mph in the mid-5s. I know many modern cars are much faster, but mid-5s ain’t bad! This thing felt plenty quick, and that five-speed Tremec TR-3650 is an absolute jewel.

What’s more, the car felt modern in all the good ways (fuel injection, decent audio system, plenty of safety systems), but still analogue in the good ways, too (no infotainment screen, no automatic transmission, no electronic safety nannies). It was a refreshing car to drive — just a big V8 sending power through a stick shift and a solid rear axle.

As Beau, Jason and I ripped through Van Nuys in V8 Mustangs that absolutely nobody who saw us could identify, I couldn’t help but wonder why I was having this much fun in what was basically just a Mustang GT. Some of it was the fact that, yes, even a basic Mustang GT from 2009 is a fun car, but some of it was those vibes I mentioned earlier.

I was driving a piece of history — something that the godfather of the Mustang, Lee Iacocca — had helped create. And there were enough changes from a regular GT that I could feel it as I drove it and as I looked in my rearview to see Beau in the black car and Jason in the red one. Those inset sealed-beam headlights and that forward-leaning are just fantastic, and really help bring the car back to April of 1964:

From the rear, the cars looked especially unique, with unique rear quarters and a unique rear window to give a true fastback profile, plus flush exhaust tips, an Iacocca badge and an Iacocca logo:

Iacocca badging could also be found on the hood…

… on the custom wheels…

… and on the sill plates…

…and on the steering wheel…

… and on the seat stitching:

Above all, where you’d normally see an infotainment screen in a modern car is one of the coolest plaques you can have in any car:

All of this — the fastback profile, the exhaust tips, those sealed beam headlights, the grille, the badging, the plaques, and the history and rarity behind it all (and Galpin’s personal relationship with the auto legend)  — made rowing through those gears and punching that 4.6-liter mod motor in the suburbs of Van Nuys just that much more special.

As for whether Beau should part ways with vehicles he and Galpin helped develop alongside their beloved late friend, Lee Iacocca, that’s still in the air. I get the feeling Beau is leaning towards selling these three, but I could be wrong. I’m curious: What do you think? Should Beau sell these rare Ford Mustang Iacocca Silver 45th Anniversary Editions? Or should he hold onto one or more of them in honor of his friendship with Iacocca?

All Images: Galpin Media unless otherwise stated